LLBrown wrote:

Here is what goes on.... I bend a thin wall brass tube to shape then I have
to melt the bending medium out of the pipe with a torch. This causes a
black scaling to show up on the outside of the pipe. To remove this I dip
the pipe in a 50/50 mix of muratic acid and water. This in turn plates the
pipe with very thin copper that I have to buff off.

I know the acid is leaching copper and plating later pipes but what is the
science behind this? Why does it plate?

LLB in Laredo


No it's leaching the zinc and leaving the copper.
...lew...